561 replies to this topic

[Mikey_01]

Love your work, will have been following the progress,

Just got my mini the other day, she is in need of some wings as there aren't any lol and A panels and the left side bottom window bity... Lol

Cheers mikey,

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[rally515]

Love your work, will have been following the progress,

Just got my mini the other day, she is in need of some wings as there aren't any lol and A panels and the left side bottom window bity... Lol

Cheers mikey,

 

 

Hi Mikey,

Nice to see another member to the mini community, doing work on there pride & joy  .

 

Looks like its going to be a similar job to Checkmate on the front, although not as exsessive as to require a new inner wing!!.

 

Keep us updated and create a project thread and link it here in mine so we can have a good noisey  .

 

Nice looking interior in your mini by the way

 

All the best,

Cliff

[Mikey_01]

Here is a link mate,

http://www.theminifo...-lets-hope-lol/

[rally515]

Hello again,

 

Not much of an update once again, i keep filtering little and often updates im afraid, just dont get alot of time to do work these days.

 

Anyway, got two panels made, the closing panel and fillete piece fro the rear subframe mounting area within the companion bin.

 

Quite happy with the finished result:

 

And............thats it  ,

Sorry about that  ,

Cliff

[ToM 2012]

looking nice mate keep it up!

[Archived4]

Awesome. You need to do a guide for people on how to make panels

[rally515]

Awesome. You need to do a guide for people on how to make panels

 

 

I can make Anythinggggggggggggg!.............................................................Probably.

 

I should just mention, if you can afford a hammer and dolly set im certain its viable to make any mini panel with enough time and effort, its all about manipulating the steel and working out how you're going to stretch and shrink the steel.

The best fabrication in my mind comes from improvisation, using things like the street light outside your house to get that bend that no tool in the garage can do...

[Archived4]

I'd look a right twonk bashing a panel around my fence post

[Ben_O]

Know what you mean about the improvisation cliff.

 

When we moved into our place, there were steel frames screwed to the inside of the basement windows with metal security bars welded across.

We took them down and stored them in the garage.

 

I use them all the time as an anvil and also to clamp steel to to bend over and the round metal bars are great from putting round edges into plates.

 

You gotta do what you gotta do when no tool will do!

 

Ben

[rally515]

Yeah exactly Ben, i've found our steps banister comes in handy for quite a few sheet metal jobs, and it goes from a angle to horizontal at a point so its perfect!! oh and its hollow tube aswell so i can stick stuff in the end and bend it aswell haha proper Redneck Multitool ;)

[rally515]

Had a few hours yesterday to wrok out how to get the rusted and rotted panels out of the rear bin section, it's too tight for me to get our drill in there to drill the spot welds out and i have this concern with being in a small space with the grinder  .

 

In the end i've started using an air tool to remove them but it's going to take a while I think.

 

Also been fitting the A-panel as i've come to the conclusion its going to be better if i alter it if it's welded in place were it's going to stay.

Gap is terrible at the moment but i can fiddle with the flitch to alter that gap easy enough.

 

Cheers,

CLiff

[rally515]

Hi folks, not updated this in a while,

 

I've done some work on the Checkmate today on the rear closing panels and fillet piece for fittment, unfortunatly the tight space in working in meant I caught myself with the grinder and now have a deep gash in my finger, so whilst I nurse that there may be no updates as such, but i'l ty and get some photos up fro you, no one likes a picturless update do they

[rally515]

Well yes!!! I am VERY VERY pleased to bring you 15 followers an actualy Update!!!

 

 

I know I know, it's been far too long that i've not doing anything on Project Checkmate, but now things are on the up for Checkmate.

She's got a load of panels made and ready to (insert) into her monocoque!!!    .

 

First i'l show you the Closing panel that I did fabricate a good while back now, but it's finaly been welded in  :

 

Next up id the Inner Sill Stiffener Panel, The end that spot welds to the closing panel had rotted away on the old one and it was genraly looking crusty, so I made a new one today and Zonc primed it:

 

And lastly on the fabrication list today was the Lower Rear Quarter Rpair Piece, this isn't yet finished but it's 90% there adn i'm resonably happy with it, I decided to try a different method of metal shaping by using some wood I trimmed to the same curve as the lower part of the quarter:

 

Then I mocked up the heelboard repair panel and trimmed it to size, also I renforced the captive threads on the panel as I looked at them and didn't even think they'd hold from being tightened up nevermind in 2/3 years time!

 

Next job on the Checkmate is definatly to trim the remaining part of the heelboard on the car, that means it's pretty much a straight forward fit of everything else, including the inner sill

 

 

Speaking of the Inner Sill, I gave it a clean up and wipe with some thinners today and sprayed it with Zinc primer like the other panels and I mocked it in for finaly adjustment of the floor pan:

 

And got some bolts sorted for the shocker mount so fitted that aswell, only one side for now though:

 

And then I got lazy listening to the radio and did this:

 

Next project mabye ? We shall see .....

 

So left it for today with the panels stacked up on the workbench adnready to roak and roll tomorrow in this lovely wether we've been having (fingers crossed haha):

 

 

Thanks for your patients ,

Cliff

[Ben_O]

Bloody hell Cliff, that quarter panel repair is a godden!

 

I am going to copy that idea with the wood. I was going to use various curved dollies to create the fold but i think an old bit of ply is the way forward!

 

Great!

 

Ben

[rally515]

Bloody hell Cliff, that quarter panel repair is a godden!

 

I am going to copy that idea with the wood. I was going to use various curved dollies to create the fold but i think an old bit of ply is the way forward!

 

Great!

 

Ben

 

 

Hi Ben, thanks man!, I did spend alot of time on it because the wooden template I knocked the lip over with was obviously too soft and gave a smooth bend instead of the sharp corner the lip required, still it doesn't look too bad.

 

So by all means try it, saves money on buying dollies aswell if you dont have or need them for much, fabricating loads of panels mean the Hammer and dolly is the place to go for me but like I said, I thought id try something different for a change.

 

It has done some good though, now I know what to use for gentle curves!